Im building a 30 A coupe on a 32 chassis. Im runing a 2x4 312 Y-block. Im wanting to go three speed column shift with overdrive. I have been offered one one out of a 59 ford with a 223 I6. Its a running driving car. Do any hambers know if it will bolt to the 312 and will it be srong enough? Is a v8 one stronger or are they the same as the 57 gearboxes? They are very rear here in Australia so my options are limited.
The 223 Six an the regular V8's (i.e. 272 & 292) got the light duty T-86 toploader type overdrive trans. The big 312 V8 got the heavy duty T-85 sideloader type overdrive trans. Either will bolt up to the same Ford y-block bell housing. Up to 1957 they both used the 1" x 10 spline input shaft. From 1958 on, the T-86 used the 23 spline input, so you'd have to change the clutch disc to that configuration. Will the T86 last? It's not a wimpy trans by any means, but you could ruin it if you drove aggressively. That's why Ford engineered the application to get the T-85. Drive it normally and you might get by for years.
Because of the relatively light weight of your car, I bet it would last a long time, if you treat it well. The thing is, it's not a fast shifting transmission, especially with the column shift, so it seems sort of inappropriate behind a hot looking motor like that. But that's ok. It will be fun to drive
I ran a T-86 for years and many 1000's of miles behind the 351W in my '51 Ford F-1. It finally got pulled out after I dumped the clutch and found a bit of traction and removed most of the teeth from first gear. So they do have their limits. If you are going racing, find a T-85, otherwise you should be fine running on the street.
Something not right in the above. The T86 is the medium-duty tranny and the T85 is the heavy-duty unit. The T86 has a top cover and the T85 has a side cover. (FWIW, the earlier Ford-built OD trannies which came with the flatheads also had side covers, but no where near as strong.) The T86 will live long and prosper in a street rod driven reasonably. As mentioned, it doesn't appreciate being speed-whooped. I'm sure you have good reasons for this and your build, your money, your decision. In every column shift build, a Hurst floor shifter was the first change I made and it added 1000% to the driving satisfaction. jack vines
The T-85 from about '49(in the Lincolns) up to early '60's was not a 'top-loader', however it was ID'd by the curved bottom of the side cover & by weighing considerably more than the T-86 which had a straight bottom side cover. The 'top-loader' versions came out in the early '60's & usually were a full-syncro box : the side-loader boxes had a non-syncro low gear.
T86 on top, T85 on the bottom: Not shown is the light-duty Ford-based OD trans which looks similar to the 'Thunderbird' trans but has a square side cover instead of the 'D' shaped one shown here. The T86 was the 'medium duty' option. The T86 is a good trans, but doesn't suffer abuse well. In a light car like a Model A it will do fine as long as you don't beat on it or speed-shift it.
Thanks for the info guys. You have basically confirmed what i knew. Ideally id like a 3spd top loader with o/d but the chances of finding one in Australia are buckleys and none. Im going column shift because its just old school cool. Though mabey if i get a 3speed top loader the o/d might go on the back.
Jack, you are absolutely right. I fat-fingered the key board and got my numbers mixed around. I ran a T-86. The post has been corrected. Thanks.
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